Resurgent
by m.brown
Summary: Takes place after Tris is shot in Allegiant. However, the wounds inflicted by David did not kill her. She awakens in a hospital bed at the Bureau and must decide how her life will play out from then on. What will happen to Tris and Tobias? What will happen to Chicago? Read on and find out what happens!
1. Waking Up

Light is the first thing I register. Not dim and Erudite-like, but white, blinding light. Next, is the steady beeping beside my left ear. I have to blink several times for my eyes to adjust to my surroundings, but my initial thought was correct. I'm in a hospital room. There is a chair across the room in the right corner and straight ahead is a large window showing me nothing but other buildings and a glimpse of the horizon. Lovely.

I look to my right and see a bundle of machines with wires hanging in tangles dropping down to the floor. There is a table next to me with a cup and a pitcher of what I hope to be water sitting on top. I try to reach out for it, but immediately stop as soon as a ripple of pain shoots through my arm. I moan a little and shut my eyes. Damn it, that hurt. I roll my head to the other side and my breath hitches as my eyes open again.

Tobias.

His eyes are closed and his chest is steadily moving up and down with every breath he takes. He is sitting in a chair right next to my bed and his body is slumped forward. His head is leaning up against the wall and his arms are crossed over the plain black T-shit covering his chest. There are dark rings under his eyes, his jaw bares stubble, and his hair is tussled and unkempt. For a long time all I can do is stare at him and hope that I'm not dreaming. But I want to see him. I want to see his blue eyes capture my soul. I want to see his smile. I want to taste his lips on mine. I want to feel his calloused hands in my own, our fingers intertwining.

"Hey," I croak. My throat and mouth are so dry that I'm not sure I actually was able to form the word, but the noise wakes him up. He blinks a couple times and rubs his eyes before looking down at his watch. He runs his hands through his hair and rubs his face before looking down at the ground. Then he looks up at me. His eyes widen and mouth opens as I try to form a smile with my own mouth.

"Tris?" he says. I smile and motion to the water on the table beside me. Tobias immediately leaps up and goes around the bed to pour me a cup. He gives the cup to my left hand obviously knowing that my right arm is incapable of moving. I greedily drink the cup before motioning for another. He pours more water in and I finish that one equally as fast.

"Let me go get the doctor," Tobias says as he begins to leave.

"No, wait. Could you just talk to me for a little bit?" I ask. His eyes soften and he nods. He pulls the chair he was sleeping in up to the side of my bed and leans forward.

"What do you remember?" he asks me. I take a deep breath and try to recount everything that had happened.

"You were in the city either going to give the memory serum to your mom or dad to try and create peace between the Allegiant and the factionless. I was here with Caleb who was going to go into the Weapons Lab and try to release the memory serum here. The alarms sounded and the Bureau guards were on us so I held Caleb at gunpoint to get by the guards and went into the Weapons Lab instead of him. The death serum didn't kill me, but David was inside. I went for the memory serum, but he shot me. And then I saw my mom and it just went black."

Tobias looks at me and I see his jaw clench. He reaches for my hand with both of his and presses his lips to the top of it.

"You were shot three times. Once in your right arm, once in your side, and once in your chest missing your heart by an inch," Tobias breathes. His eyes flicker toward my right side and then back to me. "Tris… I was so afraid that…"

"Shh… I'm fine, okay? I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here," I say. I squeeze his hands and he nods as he brings his head down to the edge of my bed. I see the top of his tattoo peek out of his shirt and sigh. He finally looks up at me and gives me a small smile.

"I'm gonna go get the doctor now, okay?" he says. I nod and he stands. He leans over and presses his lips to my forehead before walking out of the room. I close my eyes and relish the feeling of his lips on my skin. I then open my eyes and assess the damage to my own body. My right arm is heavily bandaged and incapable of movement, so using my left arm, I pull the sheets off of my torso. The right side of my stomach is wrapped up in white tape and cloth. I look down and notice that there are bandages around my chest as well. I'm grateful however that my legs were not injured because I don't think I could deal with being in a wheel chair.

"Ms. Prior! I'm glad to see that you've joined the living. Welcome back. My name is Dr. Connors," a tall man says as he walks through the door with Tobias trailing behind him. He has dark gray hair and has oval glasses perched on the end of his nose. A long white medical coat hangs off of his lanky frame and he smiles at me warmly.

"How long was I unconscious?" I ask. I had forgotten to ask Tobias earlier.

"It's been about four days now since you've been out of intensive care. Six days overall since you were shot," he explains. My eyes find Tobias who only looks at the ground. God, he must have been so worried. Almost a week without knowing if I was going to live or ever wake up. That must have been torture.

"I have to say, I am very impressed and pleased that you have been recovering at the rate that you have. Being part of Dauntless certainly has increased your physical and mental fitness thus making it easier on your body to rebuild itself. Now, do you have any questions for me?" he asks.

"When can I leave?" I ask immediately. Tobias smirks and Dr. Connors chuckles.

"I figured that would be your first question. You are stable as of now, but I would like to keep you here for at least three more days. Your body needs to heal and the best place it can do that is right here. Now, if you need me, there is a button to your left or you can always send whoever is in here visiting to get me. I'll check back in with you later."

Dr. Connors walks out of the room leaving Tobias and me alone. I lean my head back and groan as soon as the doctor is out of hearing range.

"I don't want to stay here three more days! All I want is to run out of here, strangle David, and curl up in a room with you where no one can find us," I say. Tobias grins and sits back down next to me.

"As tempting as that sounds, you do need to recover. Tris, you were really badly hurt. You need to heal. I promise as soon as you're healthy enough to leave, I'm breaking you out of here and holing up in a room with you for however long you can stand to be with me because I am _not _letting you out of my sight again," Tobias says. I grin and reach for his hand. He locks his fingers with mine and squeezes my hand.

"Can you tell me what's been happening since everything went down?" I ask. Tobias nods and he runs his free hand through his hair.

"Caleb got you after David shot you and rushed you here. The memory serum was released and David didn't know what the hell was happening. Caleb brought you to the hospital. When we got back, Cara told us everything that went down. I've been at the hospital ever since then, but Christina has been coming by and giving me updates on everything. As much as I hate to tell you this… David isn't being charged with anything. He's a government official and as far as they're concerned you were just a rebel who he shot trying to protect the government. I did try to strangle him once, but he's being heavily protected now."

I take a moment to accept this information. I close my eyes and regain control of my emotions before looking back at Tobias.

"I can't stay here, Tobias. I can't live here. I can't live in a place like this where I'm just some rebel and the man who nearly killed me isn't being prosecuted. I don't care if we're just a damn experiment; I want to go back to the city," I say. I see a twinkle in Tobias' eyes like he was hoping I would say that. He simply smiles and nods.

"If that's what you want, I'm all for it."

"I love you," I say. Tobias locks eyes with mine and smiles. He leans over and lightly kisses me on the lips.

"I love you too," he whispers. He drops his forehead down to mine and I pull his chin forward with my left hand so that our mouths meet again. I feel like a weight is lifted off of my chest and the familiar feeling of a fire in my stomach ignites and eventually fills my entire body. God, I missed him. I try to deepen the kiss, but Tobias just chuckles against my lips and pulls away.

"As much as I would love to, I don't think that would be a wise decision in your situation," he says giving me a knowing look. I frown and glare at him.

"Fine. But you _will _get in this uncomfortably small hospital bed with me and hold me," I demand. He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.

"Now what makes you think I would do that?" he asks, arching his eyebrow.

"The fact that if you don't maybe I'll just have to invite Matthew in here and ask him instead," I declare with a smirk. Tobias' eyes narrow at me and a low growl emits from his throat. I laugh and throw the sheets back so he can come sit next to me. I scoot as far to the right as I can and pat the bed beside me.

"I'd kill him, bring him back to life, and kill him again," he says and sits down next to me. He maneuvers his body under the sheets and pulls my body to him. His right arm props my head up and he traces patterns on my right shoulder. I link my fingers with his as I pull his arm across my stomach. Tobias kisses my temple and I let my head fall on his shoulder. I breathe him in and am instantly relaxed. The scent that is purely Tobias has such an effect on me that I can't quite entirely understand.

"I missed you," I mumble against his shoulder. He kisses my hair and lays his cheek on the top of my head.

"I missed you too."

"I'm never leaving you again."

A minute or two passes before I look up at Tobias. He is looking out the window towards the horizon.

"Tobias?" I ask. I see his jaw clench and feel his chest rise and fall as he takes a breath.

"Caleb told me what you said, you know. He told me what you told him to tell me; that you didn't want to leave me. I just… if you didn't want to, then why? Why did you go? Why didn't you let Caleb go?" Tobias says. His voice is soft, but with an underlying thread of anger that I notice. I feel his body stiffen and his grip tighten around me as if he was trying to go back and stop me. I rub circles in his forearm and sigh.

"I couldn't watch my brother die. I think I knew deep down that if he went in he would die. I figured that if I had been able to get through all the other serums, why not this one? And as much as I thought I hated Caleb, he's still my brother and I still love him. I couldn't live with myself if he had died in there. I would've questioned myself for the rest of my life. I'm sorry I can't control the Abnegation in me. But from this point on, I promise you I'm not ever leaving you again."

"We both have a lot of broken promises."

"Damn it, Tobias, look at me," I say sternly and sit up. I place my hand on his chin and pull it so he's looking right at me. "I'm not leaving. I know we've lied to each other and kept secrets and have betrayed each other in one form or another, but I'm in love with you. Completely and irrationally in love with you. Sitting here in this stupid hospital bed not being able to move sucks and I'm so sorry for making you worry the way you probably did. I'm not sorry for going instead of Caleb, but I am sorry for the pain I caused you. You just have to know that this is the last time anything like this is going to happen again. From here on out it's not going to be you or me, it's going to be us."

My heart is beating rapidly and my breaths are coming heavily. I search his face for some sort of reaction, but he has on his stone cold poker face. I stare intently into his eyes pleading for him to believe me. After hours it seems like, he nods.

"Okay."

"Okay? That's all you have to say after-"

I'm cut off by his mouth against mine. His hands hold my face tightly and I relax into the kiss. His hand sneaks around and buries itself in my hair while pulling my head closer to him. I stroke his jawline and begin to taste salt water. Is he crying? I pull away and open my eyes only to realize that in fact _I_ am the one who's crying. Tobias wipes away my tears with his thumbs and kisses me softly once again.

"Tris, I love you so much it hurts sometimes. It was hell not knowing whether you were going to make it through or not, but part of me knew that you would pull through like you always do. I know that I can't control what you do and that you are always going to want to do the right thing, but you're right. From here on out it's us until the end. You're the only girl I've ever loved let alone been with, and that's the way it's going to stay. There's no one I care about more in this world and there's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

I feel my heart about to burst with the words that he says to me and smile wider than I ever have before. I pull his lips to mine several times before nuzzling my head back underneath his chin. I feel his breaths become slow and steady and soon realize that he's asleep. I kiss his neck and close my eyes before drifting off to sleep as well.


	2. Recovery

**captaincati: Your review quite made my day so thank you for that. I hope that this does indeed meet your demands.**

**DDH1215: Thank you so much!**

* * *

"Christina, I understand you were worried, but you're crushing all three of my wounds at once," I say with a grimace. Christina yelps and hops right off of me.

"Tris! Oh my god, I am _so _sorry! I forgot! I just was so excited to see you awake I couldn't control myself," Christina says. I laugh and prop myself up against my pillow so that I'm sitting up.

"It's fine. Honestly it's kind of nice to have someone stop treating me like I'm made out of paper and glass," I say and roll my eyes. Tobias isn't in the room since I made him go shower and change the clothes that he had been wearing for a week, but Christina knows exactly who I'm referring to.

"Don't complain! That man is in love with you. You should be happy that the worst thing he's done is care too much if that's even a thing," she says with a cocked eyebrow.

"Okay, okay that's true. Still, I hate being treated like this. I don't want to be waited on. I want to go sprint down the hallway and jump over a table or go leap on a moving train or jump into Dauntless from the roof. This being shot thing kind of blows," I say. Christina laughs and sits down next to me.

"Well, I have zero sympathy for you. You're the one who decided that she had to save the day and almost die while you left me here a sobbing mess. So I think this is an acceptable punishment for you, don't you?"

"Fine, fine. We're even now, okay?"

Christina smiles and looks at me for a few minutes before looking at the ground. Her smile slowly starts to dissipate and I see the tears start to form in her eyes.

"I didn't know what to do when Cara told us you were shot. I just kind of fell down. Four just stood there. That's the first time I've ever seen him in a situation where he didn't know what to do. It was weird," she says. But she looks up and gives me a watery smile and says, "I knew you were going to make it though. I mean, you're you. Abnegation transfer to Dauntless, first jumper, natural badass, wooer of the infamous Four, and Divergent. You've been through a lot so I mean what's a little death serum and three bullets?"

I laugh at that one and reach my hand out to squeeze hers. Christina squeezes back and rises from her chair.

"I should get back though. I need to see how Zeke is and see what's going on. I'll come back and see you tonight?" she says. I nod and smile. She turns and gets ready to walk out the door, but pauses. She slowly turns and takes a few steps towards me.

"Listen… Four is probably going to kill me for telling you this, but I think you should know. The third day you were in intensive care you were on the brink of death for an hour or so. I found Four in the hallway crying and he had some of the memory serum. He said he didn't want to live in a world without you and that it would be easier that way. I talked him out of it naturally, but he was in really bad shape. I just thought you should know that."

I'm silent for a few minutes trying to process what she just told me. I don't even realize that she's gone until I hear a knock on the door. My head snaps up and I see Caleb peeking around the corner of the door. I motion for him to come in and he slowly walks in and shuts the door behind him. He stands awkwardly with his hands in his pockets for a few minutes and just looks at me.

"You can sit down next to me if you want," I say softly. Caleb's shoulders slump and he instantly looks relieved. He takes the chair next to me and leans towards me.

"How are you feeling?" he asks me. I shift over to my left side a little bit and reposition myself.

"Physically, it's not that bad. I just feel really bruised and beaten up. Kind of like it was during my Dauntless initiation, but worse. Mentally, I'm exhausted. How about you? How are you doing?" I ask. Caleb just looks down at his hands. I tentatively reach out and take one of his in mine. Caleb looks up with watery eyes and shakes his head.

"Why did you do it? Why did you go in there instead of me? You wouldn't be here in this hospital bed and you wouldn't be hurt if it weren't for me," Caleb says. Tears streamline down his cheeks and by the way he shudders I can tell that he's holding back sobs.

"You were only doing it out of guilt. I couldn't let that happen. If you had gone in and died, I would've felt guilty for the rest of my life. That's why I forgive you now. And yeah, you're right I wouldn't be in here, but I'd be hurting a lot worse than I am right now. You're still my brother, Caleb. I love you," I say. My words shake as I too try to fight the urge to cry. Caleb just nods and uses his palms to wipe his tears away.

"I love you too, Beatrice. I'm so sorry for everything," Caleb says. I squeeze his hand and stare at him knowingly.

"I can only forgive you one way. You have to promise do this for me, okay?" I say. Caleb nods quickly up and down.

"Anything."

"Please, call me Tris." Caleb actually cracks a small smile and releases my hand.

"Okay, Tris."

"Thank you."

"I'm going to head out now if that's okay. I need to go see what needs to be done with everything that's happening in the city," Caleb says.

"What's going on?" I inquire. Caleb opens his mouth to speak, but before he gets a word out, Tobias walks in.

"I'll let her know. You should go. Cara's been looking for you," Tobias says to Caleb. Caleb nods and looks back at me.

"I'll see you later. I hope you recover quickly, Tris," he says with a small smile. I smile back and he walks out with a wave. I hear the door click shut and Tobias and I are left alone. The first thing he does is stride over, take my face in his hands, and kiss me. I smile into his lips and sigh as he pulls away. I scoot my body over to the right so he can sit next to me on the bed and he does so. He pulls my body to his and wraps his arms around me.

"So, what's happening with the city?" I ask him.

"Basically, when I went to the factionless headquarters to see Evelyn, I gave her a choice. She could either drink the memory serum and forget everything, or come to an agreement with the Allegiant and have me back as a son. She chose to back down surprisingly. Then we went to meet with Johanna and Marcus. Evelyn surrendered all of the weapons and said that she would never return to the city in turn that all fighting would cease, the people would vote on a new system, and Marcus would not be eligible to lead anyone anymore. We told all the Bureau people here that there was a catastrophic event about to occur and that everyone's minds had to be erased in order to preserve the future. Now I guess we're just going to work on moving people in and out of the city."

I take a moment to drink all of this new information in. Evelyn actually chose Tobias over her complete reign of power? And wow, I just have to wonder how well Marcus took not being able to run for an office. And in all honesty, I don't give a damn what happens to the Bureau because there's no way in hell that I'm staying here.

"I'm happy she chose you," I say softly. Tobias curves his mouth slightly upwards and nods.

"Me too. I was really surprised. It's not like we're going to have a relationship any time soon, but maybe in the future we can. There's no hope for Marcus and me, nor do I even want a relationship with him, but with Evelyn… maybe," he says. I see a quick flash of hope in his eyes, but it's quickly masked with the natural walls that he's built up over so many years.

"I hope so, I really do. Then maybe there will be a chance that she could actually like me," I say. Tobias laughs and pulls my chin towards him.

"Are you honestly telling me that you're worried about her opinion?" he asks me. His eyebrow is raised and a smirk is plastered on his face. I frown and smack his chest with my good arm.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with wanting the mother of the man I love to approve of me, okay? I may be Dauntless, but I still have a right to be afraid of your mother," I say. Tobias just grins and shakes his head at me.

"That's the problem. If you were actually Dauntless, you wouldn't give a damn what she thought. But you're not; you're Divergent. GP or GD, I don't care. You're always going to be Divergent to me and I'm going to love you and be with you for the rest of my life no matter what Evelyn says."

"Who says I want you for the rest of my life?"

"You chose me the minute you jumped off the roof into Dauntless. Now I'm choosing you."

* * *

The next couple days drag on endlessly with check-ups, visitors, pain meds, and me occasionally trying to escape my room, but _finally _Dr. Connors came in with good news today.

"So I take it you're a little fed up with being in here?" Dr. Connors jokes as he looks over my clip board. I groan and glare at him.

"Get. Me. Out," I growl. He lets out a hearty laugh and smiles at me.

"Here's the good news: I'm letting you out today. However, I don't want you straining yourself, okay? You will not heal correctly and then you'll be back in here for an even longer period of time and I don't think you would want that now, would you?" I shake my head furiously. "Good. You're free to go. Come see me if anything worsens or you feel like you need any pain medication or anything of the sort."

Dr. Connors walks out and Tobias strides in with his hands in his pockets. He has an un-Tobias-like grin on his face and I raise an eyebrow.

"What? What is that smile about? It's freaking me out," I say wearily. He just laughs and holds his hand out.

"Are you going to question my facial expressions or do you want to get the hell out of here?" he asks. Touché. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and stand. I pull my right arm out of its sling and it aches with pain, but after moving my arm a few times, it begins to feel better to move it. I place my hand in his still outstretched hand and we lace our fingers together. He leads me out the door and through a series of hallways and turns until I realize that we aren't in the hospital section anymore, but the hotel area.

"Damn, my first five minutes out of that room and you're ready to just take me to bed in a hotel room? I thought you were more of a gentleman, Four," I say. He narrows his eyes at me but I see a small twitch in the corner of his mouth.

"Not my intentions at all, but can you honestly say that you'd object?" he challenges. I get a tingling feeling in the pit of my stomach as he says those words. It makes me think of our first night together. Thinking of Tobias _that _way doesn't make me uncomfortable anymore, but just alive. We surpassed being embarrassed with each other weeks ago. I look at his broad shoulders and muscular arms beneath his T-shirt and think of the way I can see his back muscles flex with every movement. His beautiful back tattooed with the symbols of the factions. I see that he's noticed I'm looking at him and I immediately look down.

"Why were you staring at me?" Tobias asks. He stops walking and cocks his head to the side. I can feel my cheeks burning, but I try to regain my composure.

"Why did you stop walking?" I ask. With that question, he smiles again and nods behind me. I see a door with the number 46 bolted to the front. I roll my eyes at him with a "really?" look on my face, but he just pulls a key out of his pocket and he unlocks the door. I push the door open and see a simple room with a small bathroom, a couch with a coffee table in front of a TV, and a bed. I see a bag of black and grey clothes and silently thank Christina for most likely supplying me with those. I hear the door click shut and turn to Tobias.

"Thank you for this, really. This is nice. As soon as I'm 100% though can we please go back to the city?" I ask tentatively. It's not that I didn't like the gesture, but I don't want him to get comfortable here.

"That was my plan, Tris. I just wanted a room a little more private for the time being. Plus, nobody knows where we are which is a bonus," Tobias says and touches my waist. The tingling feeling begins to return to my stomach and I get the nervous feeling in my chest. I slide my hand up to his neck and brush my lips with his gently, but pull back.

"Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too." Tobias kisses me again, but this time more forceful. I feel his hands cup my face and his lips begin to move, so I pull his hands away from mine before things get too heated.

"We will have to continue this after I shower because I haven't showered in who knows how long and these hospital clothes need to be incinerated," I say. Tobias leans back with a moan and I smack his arm. "Patience is a virtue, my young grasshopper."

"Yes, one that I don't have so hurry back," he murmurs as he kisses me again. I smile, grab a big T-shirt and shorts, and walk into the bathroom as I hear him flop on the bed. I flick the lights on, peel all of my clothes off, and get a chance to really look at myself for the first time in a while. My hair has grown longer again, my collar bones stick out a bit more prominently than before, and I don't even want to begin on the bruising. My arms, cheek, legs, stomach, and chest all have various bruises, scars, and healing cuts. I peel away the bandage over my right side and am not too freaked out by the small scar just a bit higher than my naval to the right side. I pull off the bandage on my right arm and grimace. This scar is a little worse than the other. It's right below my shoulder dead in the center of my arm. Finally, I pull the wrappings off of my chest and almost tear up. That's the nastiest scar by far. It's about half the size of my fist and still a reddish color. I look away and start the shower.

The feeling of the hot water on my body is wonderful and painful all at the same time. I feel it washing away all of the grime and hospital smell, but it also hurts my muscles. Eventually however, I begin to loosen up and the water does wonders for my body. I stay in there a little longer than I had originally planned to, but I eventually get out and wrap a towel around myself. I pull the Tobias' T-shirt over my head along with a pair of shorts after drying my hair off as best as I can and open the door.

I turn the corner only to find Tobias dead asleep on the bed. I smile inwardly knowing that he probably needs the sleep and flick the light off. I walk to the side of the bed opposite of him and pull back the covers. Tobias groggily opens his eyes and glances at me.

"Hey," he murmurs. I pull on the covers and he maneuvers himself under them with me. I cuddle up next to his warm body and feel his arm wrap tightly around my waist. I kiss his cheek, but he nudges me with his forehead and plants a kiss on my lips. I hug him close and shut my eyes hearing a whisper of three words from Tobias as I fall deep asleep.


	3. Selfish

I wake to the sound of the shower running and an empty bed. I grumble at the loss of contact with Tobias against my body and stretch my arms above my head. I roll over and yawn to look at the time. The digital clock on the small wooden night stand reads 12:47. I can't believe I slept so long! I fell asleep around three o'clock yesterday and I've never slept more than eight hours except for when I was in the hospital. I roll back over and see steam roll out of the bathroom door. Tobias walks out wearing just a pair of black sweats and grins at me.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty. Or should I say good afternoon?" he says. I stick my tongue out at him childishly and he rolls his eyes. My eyes scan his defined arms and well-sculpted torso until moving on to his broad shoulders. He turns towards the dresser and I stare at his muscular back and the artwork that it shows off/

"Excuse me for being shot at and needing recovery time. Next time I'll try to wake up earlier," I say to him sarcastically. He just shrugs and picks up a T-shirt. "Drop that."

"What?"

"Drop the shirt."

"Seriously?"

"I'm not planning on moving for the rest of the day and if you want to join me then you aren't allowed to wear that," I say. Tobias stares at me with disbelief until he cracks a smile. I smirk at him and he saunters over towards me. He holds the shirt up and releases it from his grip letting it fall to the ground.

"As you wish." He crawls on to the bed and hovers over me for a second, but I slide my hand behind his head and pull him to me. His lips connect with mine and in that moment of contact, my skin is on fire. I feel his hand cup my cheek as the other grabs my thigh. I feel him move in between my legs so I wrap my own around his waist. He pulls my lower body closer to him and moans at the contact. I let my other hand find its way to his back so I can feel his muscles contract with each movement.

His lips move away from my mouth and across my jaw down to my neck. He moves towards my collar bone and then back up again. Teasingly, he leaves just millimeters of space between our lips and taunts me. I take his face in both of my hands and pull him to me. I let my tongue trace his bottom lip and he opens his mouth, obliging to my unspoken request. His hands are fire on my skin as they travel under the hem of my shirt. I flip us over and go to pull my shirt over my head only to feel a stab of pain and realize that my arm still hurts too much to lift it up. I groan in pain and he ceases all movement.

"Does it still hurt?" he asks me. I bite my lip not wanting to say yes, but he knows me too well. "Yes, it does. I can see it on your face." He beckons me to him and I lean down to kiss him again. He kisses me back sweetly and pulls me down to lie on his chest. I place my hand on his stomach and sigh into his skin.

"Tris, let's not rush things, okay? I just got you back and I think it's best if we wait until you're fully healthy again to try and do anything this soon. I don't care how long it takes," he says softly. He plays with the hair coming down the side of my face and brushes it back.

"I care how long it takes. I just want you. I missed you," I say quietly. It dawns on me how weak and vulnerable I must sound, but Tobias doesn't look at me that way. He looks at me the way every girl wants to be looked at.

"I missed you too," he murmurs and brushes his lips across my forehead. "And trust me, I want you too. But I don't want you to be in pain."

"I could get over it," I mutter. He sighs and moves out from under my head so that he can look at me.

"You're the most stubborn person I think I've ever met in my existence."

"You think?"

"Let me rephrase that; I _know_." I narrow my eyes at him and he grins. "You're stubborn and selfless and brave and I feel so lucky to have you." I stare at him as he says these words and he looks right back. Tobias is sweet and loving when it comes to me, but he never really says things like this so it's strange to hear him talk like this.

"Tris, you're the one thing I've ever been sure about in my life. You're the one thing I'm terrified of losing and the one person that can make me feel the way I feel. When Cara told me you got shot, I just stood there. I couldn't move. I literally felt the life drain from me. I remember voices and sounds, but everything was a blur. The idea of not being able to hold you again or kiss you or see your smile or simply just look at you again was terrifying. I don't want a world without you in it. I am in complete and total love with you and I just needed you to know that."

I just stare. I look at the Bermudian blue color of his eyes and the way that they are peering into my soul. I look at the bump in his crooked nose that has obviously been broken too many times before. I look at the curve of his lips that I have memorized so well and mapped out with my own. His disheveled hair, square jaw, drawn eyebrows and every part of his face that makes him who he is makes me draw in a breath. He's beautiful. His face, his defined form of his body, his drive to have the characteristic of not just one faction, but all five, and all of the words he just said to me make him beautiful. Simply and unmistakably beautiful.

"Tobias…" I breathe. "I don't know what to say other than I love you. I love you so much and I'm so sorry for making you feel that way." He pulls me into his chest and I wrap my arms around his neck pulling my lips to his. His arms are a steel cage around me not wanting to let me go ever again. I kiss him until it hurts and even then I don't stop. I just want to stay like this, hidden from all of our responsibilities, curled up with our limps tangled together and never leave.

"Can I ask you something that's selfish of me?" he whispers. I pull his chin towards me and stroke his jawline. I stubble covering his jaw is rough against my fingers, but I strangely love the feeling. He tilts his head slightly so that my hand cups his cheek and kisses my palm.

"Absolutely," I reply. I feel his hands move to my waist and back up again. He draws invisible patterns on my back and side with his fingers and I shudder under his touch.

"Will you promise not to die?" he asks. I look down at his perfectly defined torso and trace the flames on the side of his body with my fingers. I don't look up at him because I don't know if I can give him an answer that he wants. "Tris?"

"I can promise you to try and stay safe, but you can't ask me to promise you that," I manage to squeak out. He moves his arms away from me and brings his hands up to run them through his hair. I lean up and away from his body waiting for him to speak. He doesn't. For a while we just sit there, me looking at him and him looking at the foot of the bed.

"Are you trying to kill yourself or something? Because I don't accept that you're doing this out of selflessness. I can't accept it," he says.

"Tobias-" I begin, but he holds up a hand and looks at me. His eyes have turned red and I realize that this is one of the first times I've ever seen Tobias cry. Every instinct I have to reach out and hold him is rejected by my brain knowing that he would just get angry.

"I almost lost you… I just don't understand. How can you keep doing this?" he says with a raised voice. He swings his feet over the opposite side of the bed and gets up to walk in front of me.

"Doing what? Trying to ensure that the people I love survive? Trying to find a way to fix things without having important lives lost?" I yell.

"Important lives? Do you even hear yourself, Tris? _You're _important. You have to stop this shit where you think that everybody is more important than you! Because I can promise you that there isn't a damn person I care about more than you in this world!" he shouts back.

"You don't think that I feel terrible knowing you had to wait for days to see if I was going to make it? You don't think it kills me knowing that I hurt you?" I scream. My fists are clenched by my sides and my chest heaves up and down with every breath. I shut my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Tobias, I'm not just throwing my life on the line for the hell of it. I know I've made mistakes like when I went to Erudite, but I'm done with that. This is about me not wanting to live with the fact that my brother would be dead because of me. Or how about that if I had sent him, he would've been killed before he could send out the memory serum. I'm not trying to kill myself so stop being such a pain in the ass."

I see the wounded look flash across his face before he narrows his eyes at me. His jaw clenches and unclenches while his hands are balled up at his sides. I wait for the retort, but it doesn't come. He just looks at me with those angry eyes. Then those angry eyes turn to dejected eyes and he shakes. I feel my throat start to dry up and I don't make a move because this is something I've never seen before. He covers his face with one hand and just crouches to the ground. For the longest time I don't know what the hell is going on until I hear the softest, saddest noise. Tobias is crying.

I immediately get up from the mattress and descend on my knees next to him. I bring his hand gently away from his face and my heart breaks at the sight of the stream of tears running down his cheeks. I pull his face to my chest and just let him cry. His strong arms fall loosely around my abdomen and as I pull him tighter to me, he cries that much harder. Running my fingers through his unruly brown hair, I kiss his head and take in his scent. Seeing and feeling him in this state almost makes me break down with him, but I know right now I have to be strong. He's always the strong one and there's never anyone there for him when he needs it. I realize in this moment that he's always been the one taking care of me, holding me, worrying about me, and being there when I need him most.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I'm so sorry. I understand now, okay? I'm not going anywhere. Not without you." He nods against my chest, but does not move. The shaking has subsided, but he stays still. Eventually, his arms fall away from me and go to his face. He rubs his eyes and stares at the ground, refusing to meet my gaze. I tilt his chin up and he looks up at me hesitantly. The red-rimmed, blue-eyed man that I love looks nothing more than the eighteen year old boy that he's supposed to be.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I just… I hate being weak," he mumbles to me. His head turns so he can stare at some speck of dirt at the ground rather than look at me, but I take him face in both of my hands so that we make eye contact.

"You are the absolute strongest person that I know. Crying doesn't make you weak; it makes you alive. It makes you strong knowing that you can break down in front of me and still be the same person. There's not a weak bone in your body," I say. I stroke his cheeks with my thumbs and he nods ever so slightly. "You don't always have to be the strong one, you know."

"I'm supposed to be. I'm the guy, right?" he says with a small smile tugging at him lips. I curve mine upwards and a chuckle escapes my mouth.

"Yes, you are. You are the eighteen year old boy who has become the strongest man I know and that I am in love with."

"I love you. I love you so god damn much."

"I'm sorry for making you feel like you were going to lose me. It's not happening again, okay? You aren't getting rid of me until we're old and grey and unable to move by ourselves." I press a kiss to his forehead, but in one swift motion he pulls my lips down to meet his.

"Okay."

"So… that was an eventful wake up call," I say as Tobias laughs. "Can we go get food somewhere? I'm starving." Growls emit from my stomach and I moan. Tobias helps me up and walks over to the table in the corner of the room. He grabs two brown paper bags and tosses one at me. I catch it and rip it open to discover an apple, a sandwich of some sort, and a chocolate chip cookie.

"I managed to go get some of the good food while you were sleeping," he says. He strides over to the bed with his food and plops himself down while patting the spot next to him. I happily oblige and go sit next to him on the other side of the bed. The cookie is gone within thirty seconds upon opening my bag and the sandwich in the next two minutes. The bright red apple makes a satisfying crunch as I take a bite. As good as it is, I really wish I had some Dauntless cake right about now. A strange sensation of homesickness hits me and I look up at Tobias. He takes a bite of his sandwich and cocks an eyebrow at me.

"Don't like it?" he says with a mouthful of food.

"No, it's good I just… I miss Dauntless. I was just thinking about the cake and it made me think about it. How soon can we go back?" I ask. Tobias swallows the last bite of his sandwich and throws his garbage in his paper bag along with my own. He throws it across the room before turning back to me and brushing his lips across mine. He leans back and his lips curve upwards.

"Can you be ready by tomorrow?"


End file.
